Utility stove cover



April 4, 1950 c. ROBINSON ETAL- 2,503,132

UTILITY STOVE COVER Filed May 27, 1947 2, Sheets-Sheet 1 .52 7.-INVENTORS JEREMIAB Rosmson' ATTORNE Y April 4, 1950 ,c. ROBINSON ETAL2,503,132

UTILITY STOVE COVER Filed May 27, 1947 l I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORYGrumman Rnamacm Tani-mm 5: 'Raamsox ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 4, 1950Charlotte Robinson and Jeremiah S. Robinson, New York, .N. Y.

Application May 27, 1947, :Serial No. 750,708

This invention relates to kitchen ranges and more particularly :to acombined cover and warming shelf therefor.

It is an object .of the present invention to provide a cover which whenraised from the burner openings can be fashioned into a warming shelf 7on'the back :of the range.

It is another object of the present invention to provide in a portion ofthe cover grilled openings which permit. the vpassage of the heated airboth through the cover when used as .a warming shelf and over the dishesplaced thereon, and which, when the cover is in that position, by meansof these grilled openings, impart simmering .heat from the burners andonto the dish bearing the .food to be simmered. When the cover islowered onto the top of the range these openings or vents provide forthe escape .of heat given off by the pilot light, thus acting as asafety measure.

- It is another object of the present invention to provide in a coverpart, grills adapted to serve as a warming shelf when moved to a raisedposition.

. .Another object of the invention is to provide a cover part with meanswherein the grills thereof will be automatically opened as the'shelf israised .and automatically closed as the cover part is brought down uponthe range top and further means wherein the automatic means can bemanipulated manually to effect opening of the grills while the cover isin the down position if desired.

According to the invention, a cover is fashioned to fit over the entiretop of the range whereby to enclose all of the burners on the top of therange and leave the range with a smooth flat top on which dishes orother kitchenware can be rested. This cover is made in twolongitudinally extending parts, one of the parts hinged to the rear ofthe range and the other part hinged to the forward edge of the one part.As the cover is brought upwardly about the rear hinges, it .is caughtand retained in a vertical position by catches on opposite sides of therange at the rear thereof.

The other or forward part of the cover is left in a horizontal positionand vertically spaced from the range top a distance equal to the heightof the one part. A bracket member at each end of the cover and slidablein grooves in the ends of the one part retain the forward part of thecover in its horizontal position. When the shelf is in this upper orwarming positlon, it afiords additional space for dishes, pans -5Claims. (Cl. '126332) and other kitchenware. As the cover is lowered thebrackets will slide upwardly to permit the cover parts to flatten outand lie flush on the range *top proper. The forward part is formed withgrilled areas through which heated air from the range passes to eifectthe warmingof vessels resting thereupon to be warmed and when the coveris in its fiat position these grills act as a safety measure byproviding for the escape of heated air given oil by the pilot light. Thearrangement thus turns a more or less useless -cover into a utilityitem.

Each of the grills is pivoted to rotate within the grilled openings andhas connected with them pinions'adapted to be worked by a rack sli-dablethrough the front cover part. and adapted to be engaged by the rearcover part to rotate the grills to a closed position as the cover partsare brought down, but operated by a spring as the cover parts are raisedso as to return the grills to an open position to adapt the forwardcover part for use as a warming shelf. When in a down position upon therange top this rack can be manipulated manually to effect an opening ofthe grills to allow the penetration therethrough of heat from the alwaysburning pilot light. thus acting as a safety measure.

'For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, refer ence will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings in which the various novel features of theinvention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:f

Fig. 1 is a perspective view looking .at the front, top, and one end ofa kitchen range where the cover has been raised to provide a warmingshelf.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the kitchen range with the cover.raised to provide the .shelf.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View of the shelf alone, showing thebracket constructionat one end thereof as well as the grilling withinthe part.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of one corner of the range top and asection through the vertically extending top part, taken along the line44 of Fig. 1, illustrating how the catch functions to retain the onevertically extending cover part.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view taken from the same direction as Fig. 1 butwith the cover parts flattened out to serve as a cover for the top ofthe range and with the grill areas in place to the front part showingthe ends of the grills and the automatic mechanism for effecting theirrotation as the cover is folded down to effect a closing of the grilledopenings and of hand means operable to again effect the opening of thegrills manually while in a down position of the front part, the viewbeing taken along the line B8 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction ofthe arrows thereof, the cover being in the raised position and thegrills being vertical and the operating shaft out of engagement with therear cover part.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged cross sectional view showing the grills moved totheir closed position by the automatic mechanism as the cover is broughtdown and the rod of the mechanism has been engaged by the rear coverpart.

v Fig. 10 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along the same line88 of Fig. 3 with the automatic mechanism having been withdrawn manuallyand retained by the stop on the handle to a position whereby the grillswill have been turned another ninety degrees from the position wherethey were closed by automatic action so as to adapt the front part forpermitting the heat from the pilot light to escape therethrough.

Referring now to the figures; A represents a kitchen range having a topII with a plurality of burners I2 located throughout the extent thereofand adapted to be controlled by gas cook handles I3 extending along thefront of the range.

Hinged to the rear edge of the top II by longitudinally spaced hinges I4is a cover adapted, when down, to lie' flat on the range top II, in themanner shown in'Fig. 5. This'cOVer is indicated generally at I5 andcomprises front and rear parts I6 and I! hinged to one another by hingesI8. As the cover is raised, the rear part I! is brought to a verticallyextending position along the rear of the range and against a backg'uardI9 and adapted to be retained in that position by spring catches 2| and22 at opposite ends of the guard I9. These catches have hooked portions23 over which the cover part I! rides until the vertical position isreached and the hooked portions 23 then snap inwardly to their retainingpositions. This is the position in which the cover would normally remainwhile the stove is being used for cooking but where there is no need forwarming or simmering. To release the cover part, the catches are swunmanually outwardly by the housewife permitting the forward movement ofthe cover.

The front part I6, when the cover is raised, is allowed to remain in ahorizontal position vertlcally spaced from the top of the range,providing thereby a warming shelf on which vessels containing food maybe disposed for warming or simmering. This part is held in ahorizontally raised position by sliding rods 24 and 25 at opposite endsof the cover. These rods 24 and 25 are turned inwardly at their upperends and pivoted as indicated at 26 to the outer sides of the frontpart. The opposite ends of the rods 24 and 25, when retaining the frontpart I6 in a horizontal raised position, rest in the bottom ends ofslots 2'! formed in the sides of the rear part I? in the mannerindicated at 28 (Fig. 3). The ends of the rods 24 and 25 are providedwith heads 29 to prevent the removal of the ends of the rods 24 and 25from the slots 21 which may be of a T-shape, all as shown in Fig. 7.

As the cover is lowered, the ends of the rods I 24 and 25 will slideupwardly in the slots 21 as the front part I6 is pivoted relative to therear part about the hinges I8. The rods 24 and 25 may thus bepermanently retained on the ends of the cover while the cover is inplace on the kitchen range.

The front cover part l6 has grilled openings 30 through Which heated airpasses to warm the vessels disposed thereon when the cover is in theraised position and the front part I6 is in posi-.- tion to serve as awarming shelf. When the cover part I6 lies flat on the range top thegrilled areas 3| will be aligned with the forward burners I2 thusproviding a means of escape for heat given off by the usual. burningpilot light, not shown.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 8, 9, and 10, there is shown anautomatic mechanism for closing the grills as the cover parts arebrought down upon the top of the range. Each of the grills 3| is pivotedwithin its opening 30 as indicated at 33. To one side of the openingthere is extended from front to rear in cover part I6, a rod 34 havingrack teeth 35 extending throughout the major part of its length. Theserack teeth cooperate with pinions 36 located adjacent the pivot point 33of each grill. Upon working the rack axially forward and rearwardly, thegrills will be moved alternately to open and closed positions dependingupon the extent the rod 34 is moved in one direction or the other. Atthe rear of the part I6 there is provided an enlarged opening 31 throughwhich the rear end of the rod 34 is extended. Within this opening is acoil spring 38 which cooperates with a flange 39 on the rod to normallymaintain the rod in its rearward position at times when the cover is upand the forward part I6 is extending horizontally for use as a shelf forwarming or simmering.

The flange 39 comes to a stop against aretaining screw 4| threaded intothe end of the opening 31 and having a hole 42 extended therethrough forreceiving rear end 43 of rod 34 Which protrudes rearwardly as shown inFig. 8 when the front cover part I6 is turned down away from the rearcover part I7.

As the cover parts are brought down upon the top'of the range, rear end43 will engage the forward edge of the rear part I'Ito force the rod 34forwardly against the action of the spring 38 so as to move the grills3| through ninety degrees to assume the position shown in Fig. 9. Therod 34 at its forward end 44 will have been pushed forwardly so that itprojects to a greater extent from the front edge of the forward coverpart. A knob 45 on the forward end 44 of the rod is free to slideforwardly against a'washer 46 and cotter pin 41. The knob 45 has aforwardly extending sleeve portion 48 which has a stop lug 49 on itsrear end thereof. This stop lug slides in a key opening 5 I. In theposition shown in Fig. 9, with the grills in their closed positionspanama 5. therastop lugz wilL have only been advanced: halfwayr-throughthekey i. I

When. the cover. is down, if it is desiredto' againeffect anopeni'ngroffthe grills 3| the knob 45 is: then. pulled forwardly tofurther compress the compression spring 38 in the opening 31, to freethe lug 4B ofth'e keyway slot 5| and to permit therotationof the knob 45to-locate the stop lug upon the forward face 52 so as;t o retain the rodin. its forwardly drawn v position. The grills 3| will have beenrotated; this time manually, through another ninety degrees to thefopenposition shown in Fig. 10.

'If, for ease of manufacture; it. should be. desired toisimplify thegrillv construction herein described itzwouldbe merely necessary toconstruct the grills in the form of, louvered opening's which wouldalways. remain open no adjustment for open and closed positions: beingneeded. I v

It should thus be apparent thatthere has been provided a permanentlypositioned grill construction as well as an automatic mechanism wherebythegrills will be automatically moved to a closed position or to an openposition as the cover is brought down upon the top or raised to serve asa warming or simmering shelf. It should be further apparent that bymanipulating apart of the automatic mechanism these same grills can beopened manually if so desired.

While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of ourinvention, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A kitchen range comprising a range top with burners therein, a coverfor the range top composed of front and rear parts hinged to one anotherand with the rear part hinged to the rear of the range, means forretaining the rear part in a vertical position as the cover is raisedfrom front to rear, and means extending between the front and rear partsfor retaining the front part in a horizontal position along the top edgeof the rear part whereby to provide a warming or simmering shelf on therear of the range When the cover is raised, said front part havinggrilled openings through which heated air passes to warm the vesselsresting on the front part when serving as a shelf and adapted to bealigned with the front burners when the cover is lowered onto the rangetop whereby to serve as openings through which heat from the range mayescape, said grilled openings having grills rotatable in the openings,and automatic mechanism for effecting a rotation of the grills to theiropen position as the cover parts are raised and the front cover partadapted for use as a warming or simmering shelf and for rotating thegrills to a closed position within their openings as the cover parts arelowered onto the top of the range.

2. A kitchen range comprising a range top with burners therein, a coverfor the range top composed of front and rear parts hinged to one anotherand with the rear part hinged to the rear of the range, means forretaining the rear part in a vertical position as the cover is' raisedfrom front to rear, and means extending between the front and rear partsfor retaining the front part in a horizontal position along the top edgeof the rear part whereby to provide a warming or sim- 6, mering. shelfon the rear' of the r'angewhen 'th cover. isirai'se'd; said frontparthaving grilled openingsz through which heated air passes to warm thevessels resting on the front part when-serv ingas. ashelf'and adapted-tobe aligned with'thefront burners when the cover is lowered onto therange top whereby to serve as openings through which heat from the rangemay escape,

saidz grilled: openings having grills: rotatable in the openings, andautmnatic mechanism for effecting a:rotation of the grills to their openposition as the cover parts are raised and the front: cover. partadapted for use" as a warming or: simmering she'lf and for rotating thegrills to a closed position within their openings as the cover partsvare lowered onto the top of the range, and means for manually rotatingthe grills to an open position while the cover is down.

xA-kitchen range comprising a range top with burners therein, acover'forthe range top composed of frontand rear parts hinged to oneanother and. with the rear part hinged to the rear of the range, meansfor retaining the rear part in a vertical position as the cover israised from front to'rear, and means extending between the front andrear parts for retaining the front part ina horizontal position along"the top edge of the rear part whereby to provide a warming or simmeringshelf on the rear of the range when the cover is raised, said front partbeing formed with spaced openings, rotatively mounted grills extendedacross each of said openings, pinions on said grills adjacent the endsthereof, a rack slidable across each of said openings and having teethmeshing with said pinions, means urging said racks in the raisedposition of said cover to rotate said pinions and in turn said grills toan open position and to extend the rear ends of said racks from the backedge of said front part, whereby when said cover is lowered the edge ofsaid rear part adjacent the back edge of said front part will engage theextended rear ends of said racks and press them in against the action ofsaid means and move the racks to close said grills.

4. A kitchen range comprising a range top with burners therein, a coverfor the range top composed of front and rear parts hinged to one anotherand with the rear part hinged to the rear of the range, means forretaining the rear part in a vertical position as the cover is raisedfrom front to rear, and means extending between the front and rear partsfor retaining the front part in a horizontal position along the top edgeof the rear part whereby to provide a warming or simmering shelf on therear of the range when the cover is raised, said front part being formedwith spaced openings, rotatively mounted grills extended across each ofsaid openings, pinions onv said grills adjacent the ends thereof, a rackslidable across each of said openings and having teeth meshing with saidpinions, means urging said racks in the raised position ofsaid cover torotate said pinions and in turn said grills to an open position and toextend the rear ends of said racks from the back edge of said frontpart, whereby when said cover is lowered the edge of said rear partadjacent the back edge of said front part will engage the extended rearends of said racks and press them in against the action of said meansand move the racks to close said grills, said means comprising expansionsprings operating between collars on said racks and fixed portions ofsaid front part.

5. A kitchen range comprising a range top with 7. tumors therein, acover for the range top .com-: posed of front and rear parts hinged toone another and with the rear part hinged to the rear of the range,means for retaining the rear part in a vertical position as the cover israised from front to rear, and means extending between the front andrear parts for retaining the front part in a horizontal position alongthe top edge of the rear part whereby to provide a warming or simmeringshelf on the rear of the range when the cover is raised, said front partbeing formed with spaced openings, rotatively mounted grills extendedacross each of said openings, pinions on said grills adjacent the endsthereof, a rack slidable across each of said openings and having teethmeshing with said pinions, means urging said racks in the raisedposition of said cover to rotate said pinions and in turn said grills toan open position and to extend the rear ends of said racks from the backedge of said front part, whereby when said cover is lowered the edge ofsaid rear part adjacent the back edge of said front part will engage theextended rear ends of said racks and press them in against the action ofsaid means and move the racks to close said grills, and means fordrawing said racks forward and holding them in a forward drawn-positionagainst the action of said means in ,the'lowered position of said coverfor opening the grills in the lowered position of the cover.

: CHARLOTTE ROBINSON.

JEREMIAH S. ROBINSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in file of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS the

